Stocks are down slightly today, as policymakers around the globe continue to sit on their hands.
After the Federal Reserve declined to act while continuing to demurely string us along, investors hoped the European Central Bank would pull the trigger, given the more dire circumstances in the region. But no, President Mario Draghi was equally coy, hinting there could be some bond buying, but not revealing any specificities.
Job numbers came in better than anticipated, but it was worse than the prior week's initial claims by 8,000. Feel the recovery!
That said, let's take a closer look at how the three major indexes are faring and check out several stocks making headlines.
|
Index |
Gain/Loss |
Gain/Loss % |
Intraday Value |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dow Jones Industrial Average |
43.82 | 0.34% | 13,052.50 |
| Nasdaq | 2.55 | 0.09% | 2,942.07 |
| S&P 500 | 3.80 | 0.28% | 1,383.12 |
Source: Yahoo! Finance as of 10:55 a.m. EDT.
On the Dow, the biggest gainer is currently Hewlett-Packard
On the Nasdaq, there are a number of sizable pops, including Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Green Mountain, initially down after hours last night due to its earnings release, abruptly changed course during the conference call and is soaring 28% today. Why the dramatic change of heart? Despite revising long-term growth in the 15%-20% range, the company insisted that within the next two years it would see meaningful free cash flow and even fund a significant share buyback.
First Solar also reported after the close last night and has popped 24% higher due to a near-doubling of second-quarter revenue and increasing the company's full-year outlook. Solar stocks have been a punching bag for a while now, but perhaps at these depressed valuations, companies like First Solar may be poised to outperform.
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